Sign Of Dissaproval
by Browneyedbagel
Summary: Tom fails to sneak back into his house after a date and his mother has some rather unique objections with his love life.


With many thanks to Abe from the PPMB for the title.

Characters from Daria are the property of their respective owners; no monetary gain is made here.

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Tom carefully approached the front door with the silent resolve of a thief. He turned his house key in the lock as if it might explode if he applied too much physical force. It seemed to be louder than usual; which was a common illusion that every teenager who ever broke curfew experienced at least once. He tried to ignore his suddenly nearly superhuman sense of hearing as he slowly opened the door. A small degree of confidence began to swell in the back of his head as he took the first step into his home. No sounds came from the upper level and no light had been clicked on upon entry. He slightly raised his pace and closed the door behind him. All he had to do was get to his bedroom and no one would know he was out. He relocked the door and his sense of caution went back into overdrive. Every step seemed to echo as he crept through the darkness. The only thought in his head was to wonder why his vision couldn't get a sudden boost instead.

A few choices swear words nearly came out as he walked into a doorframe. A few got closer to the edge of his tongue when a light was turned on. He found himself looking at his mother who appeared less than pleased with him. She simply remained seated in a comfy looking chair next to an end table with a lone lamp and started to look very clichéd. Tom let his exhaustion get the better of him and just wanted the impending lecture to be over.

"Right. Grounded for a predetermined amount of time, very disappointed with me ect. Night mom."

Right as he said it he knew damn well that it wasn't going to work. He was kind of surprised that it slipped out the way it did. Katherine didn't move or change expression or even say anything back at first. She locked him in place with her steady frozen gaze and took a deep breath before speaking.

It was almost like she was trying to remember the language.

"Tom. The problem isn't that you were out this late. The problem is with…who you were out with."

Tom stopped trying to pull away from her eyes and every bone in his body turned to cold lead. That tone drove home that she knew. He was so sure that he had covered his tracks to perfection. How did she know? Did she overhear the wrong thing at the right time or did someone tell her? Either way he was caught and he had nowhere to go but forward. Abruptly his bones and joints seemed to mold back into their usual density and he felt like he could actually move. He gathered himself and responded with an equal fire.

"You know what mom? I'm glad you know because I'm tired of feeling like I have to hide it. I'm gay and that's just how it is. Even if I wanted to change how I feel I wouldn't even start. If you can't accept me for who I am then that's your problem. Personally I would be proud to have a kid who could stand by his sexuality"

Tom was abruptly cut off. It didn't even register in his mind that Kay had even gotten up. She made her way to him and pulled him into a firm reassuring hug. Her voice was a fierce contradiction to what Tom expected to hear.

"Tom there is nothing wrong with being homosexual. I'm happy that you're confident about who you are and I'm sorry that you felt like you had to hide it from me. I never wanted to give the impression that this was an intolerable home for you. If you're comfortable with whom you are then I'll stand by you."

He froze up as he started to think about what the hell her problem was. She withdrew from the embrace and re-established eye contact before going on.

"I don't have any problem with gay people Tom. The problem is with who you're seeing."

Despite the haze his mind was still in combined with the adrenaline surge he reached a different conclusion for the problem his mother had. If she didn't have an inherent problem with homosexuality then … oh god…

"Mom…I'm shocked beyond words. Homophobia is something I grew to expect but racism? How the hell can you judge Michael just because"

Tom was cut off once again by his mother, who was shocked by the new accusation.

"What? Tom that's not it! Honestly Tom how the hell did you ever get the impression that I have a problem with people because of their race?"

Her expression grew a tad pained.

"Are really this disconnected Tom? When did you start to think this low of me?"

Between being exhausted and now at a loss for words, Tom was in no shape to take any more guessed as to exactly what his mother's objections with his relationship was. Under the spell of the haze and due to a lack of better judgment he elected to take another stab at it.

"Is it…that I'm getting physical before getting married?"

The question echoed in his head. Under normal circumstances the topic of sex would never voluntarily enter a conversation with his mother, especially not from his side. As before she defused the notion but this time she didn't sound hurt that she had to do so.

"Tom you're a teenager. In this day and age teenagers end up fooling around constantly. As long as you do whatever it is you do responsibly and safely with someone you trust and who will also do it safely then there won't be a problem. To be honest knowing that you're sexually active is easier to accept knowing that you are more interested in guys. Now I won't be hearing that you got some poor girl knocked up. I have to admit that I was starting to get nervous about that Jane you used to date and I'm glad that I won't go through that potential heart attack ever again. I'm much too young to be a grandmother."

As nice as it was to know that his mom didn't have any obvious problem with his relationship; the fact that the problem wasn't obvious was starting to eat away at him the way he munches on gummy bears. Tom gave up.

"Then what is wrong with who I'm dating?"

Kay put her hands on Tom's shoulders before answering.

"Tom you're my son and I love you..."

Her fingernails started to dig into his skin and things started to get scary. Hell's ski resort returned to the back of her eyes and she locked right onto him.

She had a much stronger grip than he thought she could have.

"…but there will never be any room in this family … for a Cancer."

She left him standing there with more questions than answers.

"Um…isn't Elsie a"

Tom elected to not finish his sentence on grounds that it felt like he might be bleeding a bit on his right shoulder.


End file.
